When I started Spy Culture over ten years ago one of my main aims was to end up writing a book on the CIA and Hollywood. Having written three books already I am unsure if I will find the time and impetus to write Langleywood: The CIA and Hollywood’s Movie Machine. In case that never happens I have compiled the essence of my research into this timeline, with open sources. It constitutes the backbone of what any good book on the CIA and Hollywood should cover, in my not-very-humble opinion.

So sit back, maybe get a snack and enjoy what I believe is the most comprehensive run through of the world’s most powerful intelligence agency and their operations in tinseltown.

The CIA and Hollywood: The 1940s

November 12th 1942 – John Ford arrives in Algiers. He is there to film Operation Torch – the invasion of North Africa – on behalf of the OSS, the predecessor to the CIA. He is met by Darryl Zanuck, his former boss at 20th Century Fox, who was also there to film the invasion as part of his work for Army intelligence. [source]

1942–1945 – The OSS maintain a film unit throughout the war, comprising hundreds of officers alongside Hollywood luminaries. Ford makes training films to help induct OSS recruits, and members of the OSS unit film the concentration camps to create footage that was used at the Nuremberg trials. Twelve members of the unit die while filming combat. [source]

Unknown, 1943 – OSS officers draw up a strategic memo titled The Motion Picture as a Weapon of Psychological Warfare. It outlines how to use not just individual films but the entire industry as a means of projecting power, influencing attitudes and opinions both domestically and abroad, and gathering intelligence. [source]

May 26th 1946 – Paramount release O.S.S., the first film about the WW2 adventures of America’s first covert action agency. Supported by real life OSS veterans it includes a demand for America to create a Central Intelligence Agency – before that phrase appeared in any government document. It was written and produced by Army intelligence veteran Richard Maibaum. [source]

September 28th 1946 – Warner Bros release Cloak and Dagger, also about the wartime exploits of the OSS, also using veterans as consultants. [source]

January 15th 1947 – 20th Century Fox release 13 Rue Madeleine, which is originally intended to depict the OSS. Objections from former OSS chief Wild Bill Donovan led to changes in the script, making the spies members of a military intelligence unit codenamed 077. It had been developed by Fox head of production Darryl Zanuck. [source] [source 2]

September 18th 1947 – The National Security Act is signed into law and the CIA is formally created. [source]

November 25th 1947 – The MPAA’s Eric Johnston issues the Waldorf Statement, the beginning of Hollywood’s anti-Communist blacklist. This includes the director of O.S.S. Irving Pichel, and writers Albert Maltz and Ring Lardner Jr who wrote Cloak and Dagger. [source]

March 17th 1949 – The National Committee for a Free Europe, a CIA anti-communist front involved in cultural warfare, is founded in New York. Among its executive committee are future president Dwight Eisenhower, future CIA director Allen Dulles, 20th Century Fox President Spyros Skouras and Darryl Zanuck, producer of 13 Rue Madeleine and the anti-communist movie The Iron Curtain. [source]

The CIA and Hollywood: The 1950s

January 1950 – Shortly after George Orwell dies CIA operative Howard Hunt dispatches two Hollywood assets – Carlton Alsop and Finis Farr – to the UK to secure the rights to Orwell’s Animal Farm from his widow, Sonia. [source]

June 1950 – The CIA help to create the Congress for Cultural Freedom, another cultural warfare front organisation. [source]

January 1951 – The CIA remove all references to themselves from the Bob Hope Comedy My Favourite Spy. [source]

August 1st 1951 – The CIA request that references to themselves be removed from a script being developed by Cavalier Productions. This film is never made. [source]

September 18th 1951 – The Day the Earth Stood Still is released. Produced by Darryl Zanuck at 20th Century Fox, this Army-supported film has long been rumoured to be a CIA-sponsored experiment to see how the American public would respond to an extraterrestrial arrival. [source]

February 6th 1952 – The CIA reject an approach from Warner Bros. to make a spy movie set in the present day and depicting the Agency. They tell Warner that ‘we would take every step to discourage the production’. The film is never made, with Warner choosing to make Operation Secret instead. [source]

January 1953 – Paramount Pictures head of domestic and foreign censorship Luigi Luraschi begins writing letters to his CIA handler, ‘Owen’, about the rewrites and changes on films that Luraschi is making on behalf of the Agency. He also kills projects that don’t meet their propaganda aims, and provides intelligence on studio executives. [source]

January 16th 1953 – 20th Century Fox President Spyros Skouras provides a lengthy report to the CIA on his observations from a recent trip to the Far East. [source]

September 29th 1953 – CIA officer Tracy Barnes attends a meeting at the Pentagon where he implies that the CIA were having MGM make a film about pilots in the Korean War. Within days he denies this in an internal memo, saying he only showed MGM footage shot by the Air Force. However, the following year MGM release Men of the Fighting Lady, which includes some of this footage. [source]

January 1954 – Psychological warfare specialist CD Jackson sets out a list of producers and executives who could be considered friendly to the CIA’s aims, including Zanuck, Skouras, Walt Disney, Harry and Jack Warner, Harry Cohn and MPAA President Eric Johnston. [source]

March 1954 – Former FBI agent Robert Maheu sets up a private investigations firm, and begins working for the CIA as a contract agent. [source]

May 9th 1954 – The CIA become aware of a PBS documentary about Communist infiltration of Guatemala, and make plans to have it shown in ‘as many Latin American countries as possible’ so as to ‘prepare world public opinion’ in favour of Operation PBSUCCESS, the CIA’s coup in Guatemala. [source]

June 18th 1954 – The coup in Guatemala begins. Howard Hunt and David Atlee Phillips are two of the senior operatives involved in the operation. [source]

October 21st 1954 – CBS air the first TV adaptation of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, where Bond is recast as an American spy to appeal to US audiences. The CIA prevent CBS from using their name in the broadcast. [source]

December 29th 1954 – The cartoon version of Animal Farm premieres in New York. Though it is produced by a British animation company, the film is partly funded by the CIA. The ending of the film is changed to promote the idea of a revolution inside the Soviet Union. The movie is produced by Louis de Rochemont, the producer of 13 Rue Madeleine. [source]

January 1956 – CIA operative Ed Lansdale meets with film maker Joseph Mankiewicz in Saigon to discuss his adaptation of The Quiet American and scout filming locations. [source]

March 6th 1956 – The film version of Orwell’s 1984 is released in the UK, with the American release in September. Funding for the film came from the Congress for Cultural Freedom, itself covertly funded by the CIA. [source]

March 17th 1956 – Ed Lansdale writes to Joseph Mankiewicz about his script for The Quiet American, encouraging him to change the ending of the film so the Vietnamese, not the Americans, are responsible for a terrorist bombing. [source]

May 16th 1956 – Allen Dulles approves of an idea for a film about Stalin’s purges calling it an ‘excellent idea’ and saying he would authorise funding for it. [source]

July 13th 1956 – At a CIA Deputies Meeting a Darryl Zanuck film on the crimes of Stalin is discussed, with Allen Dulles ‘strongly approving’ of the project. While the film is never made Zanuck’s next film is Island in the Sun, depicting an interracial romance, in keeping with Luraschi’s efforts at portraying America as a racially harmonious society. [source] [source 2]

October 2nd 1956 – Allen Dulles, his deputy Lyman Kirkpatrick and head of CIA public affairs Stanley Grogan meet with Figaro Entertainment, the producers of The Quiet American. They discuss Mary Bancroft’s ideas for a TV series about US intelligence, to promote the Agency and help with recruitment, but the proposed series is never made. [source]

November 1956 – The CIA become aware that New York-based Flamingo Films are planning a series of documentaries about the OSS. [source]

April 1957 – CBS begin developing their own OSS film series and ask for the CIA’s support, thereby muscling Flamingo out of the market. [source]

July 1957 – Robert Maheu is contracted by the CIA to fake a sextape of Indonesian leader Sukarno, which (according to his autobiography) Maheu produces with the help of Bing and Larry Crosby. [source]

January 1958 – Allen Dulles refuses CBS’s request for help, thereby killing both the CBS series and the Flamingo Films project in one go. [source]

February 5th 1958 – United Artists release The Quiet American, including the changes encouraged by Lansdale. [source]

May 1958 – Robert Maheu is tasked with finding an attractive Caucasian woman to use as a honeytrap on Sukarno. He recruits Florence Horn, a ‘well to do widow’ with friends in the movie business. Her cover for travelling in the Far East is provided by 20th Century Fox – that she is scouting locations for the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth. [source]

December 1958 – MPAA President Eric Johnston and CIA director Allen Dulles begin a lengthy correspondence that lasts for several years. They discuss efforts to weaken film quota systems in target countries, to allow more American films into their markets, as well as Johnston’s visits to the Soviet Union and meetings with high Soviet officials. [source] [source 2]

December 29th 1958 – A CIA memo references several Hollywood spy films being used for training Agency recruits. Among the films is Walk East on Beacon, a film based on an article by FBI Director J Edgar Hoover and produced by Louis de Rochemont. [source]

Unknown, 1959 – Allen Dulles and James Bond author Ian Fleming meet for the first time at a party in a private club in London. This would be the beginning of years of friendship between the man who ran the CIA and the man whose books were the first fictional depictions of the CIA. [source] [source 2]

April 3rd 1959 – Robert Maheu arranges a party in Hollywood for Prince Hussein of Jordan, along with some female company. At the party the Prince falls for film starlet Susan Cabot. The CIA subsequently arrange a mansion in Long Island for the two to carry on a love affair, and so the Agency can spy on them. [source]

July 1st 1959 – MGM release Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, the first film to name the CIA. [source]

The CIA and Hollywood: The 1960s

September 14th 1960 – CIA contract agent Robert Maheu pitches Johnny Roselli, a former movie producer and bodyguard to Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn, on using the mafia to assassinate Cuban president Fidel Castro. [source]

March 27th 1961 – The novel Thunderball is published, containing very positive dialogue about the CIA and about Allen Dulles personally, as a result of his correspondence and friendship with Fleming. [source] [source 2]

April 25th 1962 – CIA head of public affairs Stanley Grogan receives a memo informing him of a letter saying that the film Capture That Capsule is denigrating the Agency. [source]

October 5th 1962 – Dr No, the first James Bond film, is released. It includes the debut of cinema’s first recurring CIA character: Felix Leiter. The script is partly written by Richard Maibaum, who writes several of the early Bond films. [source]

September 24th 1963 – The screwball comedy Charade is released by Universal Pictures. Its storyline includes a CIA character and a tale of OSS agents stealing gold. It has no CIA support or influence. [source]

April 13th 1964 – A CIA memo records how the latest James Bond novel You Only Live Twice contains positive references to John McCone, Allen Dulles’ replacement as Director. [source]

October 16th 1964 – Charles Russhon, technical advisor and government liaison on the James Bond films, invites CIA Deputy Director Marshall Carter to a special screening of Goldfinger, and informs the Agency that they are making Thunderball. Both films were partly written by O.S.S. writer/producer Richard Maibaum. [source] [source 2]

November 30th 1964 – NBC approach various US intelligence agencies about a TV special they plan to produce. The CIA eventually refuse to participate and the show is made without their influence or support. [source]

February 3rd 1965 – CIA Deputy Director for Plans Richard Helms denies a request from NBC for the CIA to participate in a forthcoming TV broadcast on American intelligence. [source]

September 8th 1965 – The low-budget spy film Operation C.I.A. is released, the first film to put the CIA in its title. It has no CIA support or influence. [source]

December 9th 1965 – The James Bond film Thunderball premieres in Tokyo. At the climax of the film Bond and Domino are rescued via a plane with a skyhook. The plane is provided by CIA front company Intermountain Aviation. [source] [source 2]

December 10th 1965 – Henry Hathaway, director of 13 Rue Madeleine, has the President of Paramount contact the CIA about making a film about the Agency. This film is never made. [source]

May 17th 1966 – After Jack Valenti is confirmed as Eric Johnston’s replacement at the MPAA, the CIA request a copy of the FBI’s background checks on Valenti, ‘in connection with certain sensitive matters in which the Agency is involved’. [source]

August 12th 1966 – Agency General Counsel Lawrence Houston meets in Los Angeles with (redacted), a TV producer and their lawyer. They discuss making a CIA-themed TV series to try to improve public opinion around the Agency, but Houston discourages them and refuses CIA support. This series is never made. [source]

September 17th 1966 – Mission: Impossible, the long-running TV series, makes its debut. It is inspired by the life and work of Robert Maheu. [source]

September 20th 1966 – CIA Director Richard Helms has lunch with ABC’s Bill Downs and John Lynch where he rejects their proposal to make a CIA-themed TV show. [source]

December 21st 1967 – Paramount release The President’s Analyst, a black comedy about American intelligence. Under pressure from the government the studio changes all references to the FBI to the ‘FBR’ and the CIA to the ‘CEA’. [source] [source]

August 21st 1968 – The CIA reject an approach from Universal Pictures to support the Hitchcock spy thriller Topaz. The film is made without CIA support or influence. [source] [source 2]

September 19th 1968 – Jack Valenti writes to Richard Helms with feedback from Paramount and Warner Bros. on the prospect of adapting Howard Hunt’s spy novels into films. Valenti has been pitching the novels to major studios on Helms’ behalf. [source]

September 16th 1969 – The CIA obtain and review a script for a film called The CIA, but conclude it would ‘only encourage snickers and derision’. The writers of the script also write for the TV series Mission: Impossible. This film is never made. [source]

December 19th 1969 – Topaz is released, and portrays the CIA very positively despite being rejected by the Agency. [source]

The CIA and Hollywood: The 1970s

October 5th 1970 – The CIA obtain the script for Vanished, the first TV mini-series. A memo notes how Director Richard Helms is ‘the villain of the piece’ and is described as a ‘man eating shark’. They do nothing to remove this dialogue from the script. [source]

February 4th 1972 – At a meeting with executives from Gulf and Western, the parent company of Paramount, the CIA refuse a proposal to make a CIA-themed TV series. [source]

February 17th 1972 – Senator John Tunney writes to the CIA asking for assistance on the forthcoming assassination thriller Scorpio (at the time titled Danger Field). Following a script review the CIA agree to allow the director Michael Winner and others access to Langley for filming, and even agree to some scenes being shot in Richard Helms’ home. [source] [source 2]

May 8th 1972 – The MPAA and Jack Valenti host a special screening of The Godfather, where CIA officials and Paramount executives discuss using the studio to provide cover identities to CIA officers. They also talk about adapting Howard Hunt’s spy novels into films, and a possible TV series on the CIA. Neither project is ever made. [source]

June 17th 1972 – The Watergate Burglars, led by Howard Hunt, break into the DNC at the Watergate complex. Michael Winner is staying at the hotel at the time and some of the actors from Scorpio bump into the burglars. [source]

April 19th 1973 – United Artists release Scorpio, the first Hollywood film to shoot at the CIA’s Langley headquarters. [source]

November 7th 1973 – National General Pictures release Executive Action, a conspiracy thriller about the JFK assassination.  The CIA closely monitor media coverage around the film, including stories alleging that the Agency were trying to sabotage the production.  The film is widely criticised on its release and its theatrical run is short-lived. [source]

April 7th 1974 – Paramount release The Conversation, a surveillance thriller starring Gene Hackman. It is written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and CIA surveillance contractor Martin Kaiser works as an uncredited technical advisor. [source] [source 2]

February 3rd 1975 – National media report on former CIA Director Richard Helms being pictured on the set of Three Days of the Condor with Robert Redford. [source]

September 1975 – The Association of Former Intelligence Officers holds its first convention. Founded earlier that year by Head of Propaganda on the CIA Guatemala coup David Atlee Phillips and former ONI officer George McLendon, the Association aims to combat negative media depictions and commentary about the Agency. [source]

January 21st 1976 – CIA Director William Colby, General Counsel John Warner and spokesman Angus Thuermer meet with ABC President Fred Pierce about a TV series called The CIA. The idea originated with Hollywood lawyer Larry Thompson. [source]

March 2nd 1976 – In a phonecall with Pierce, Warner lets him know that the Agency aren’t in favour of supporting Thompson’s series.[source]

March 14th 1977 – An Agency memo records how requests from both Paramount and MGM to film CIA headquarters were rejected. [source]

March 28th 1977 – The CIA set up their Office of Public Affairs, naming Herbert Hetu as their first head of the new office. [source]

March 30th 1977 – The CIA receive a proposal from wealthy industrialist Charles Felton Elkins to make an adaptation of the popular romantic spy thriller novel Shade of the Palms. The Agency discuss the idea with Elkins but ultimately reject it. This film is never made. [source]

July 24th 1977 – CBS become the first TV news network to be allowed to film CIA headquarters. [source]

September 22nd 1977 – A CIA memo responds to a statement by Director Stansfield Turner on Good Morning America a few days earlier. Turner denied that the Agency uses Hollywood spy films for training purposes, but the memo makes it clear that they do. [source]

November 4th 1977 – Former CIA Director George Bush writes to Stansfield Turner about a proposed TV series called The CIA, to be produced by co-founders of the AFIO George McLendon and David Atlee Phillips. Turner writes back to Bush suggesting that Turner meet with McLendon and discuss his ideas for the series. [source]

December 16th 1977 – MGM and United Artists release the spy thriller Telefon, the second-ever film to shoot at CIA headquarters. [source]

January 20th 1978 – MPAA President Jack Valenti pens an op-ed in The Washington Star defending the CIA and FBI. CIA Director Stansfield Turner later writes Valenti a letter thanking him for this. [source]

January 25th 1978 – PBS write a letter to CIA Director Stansfield Turner asking for permission to film at Langley for their series In Search of the Real America. This request is granted only after a full script review. [source]

March 3rd 1978 – George McLendon meets with Stansfield Turner and Herbert Hetu to discuss his proposed CIA TV series which, like Thompson’s proposed series, is titled The CIA. He offers the Agency veto power over scripts, and asks for them to provide ‘anecdotes’ to be used as the basis for episodes of the series. Even though he has the support of the AFIO, McLendon later admits they were never able to get the ‘story cooperation’ they needed. This TV series is never made. [source]

April 26th 1978 – CIA head of training Harry Fitzwater writes a memo about using the NBC TV movie Spying for Uncle Sam for training purposes. [source]

August 15th 1979 – United Artists release the war epic Apocalypse Now, inspired by the CIA’s Phoenix program and written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The production involves a two-year battle with the US government, with Variety reporting that the CIA had planted an asset within the crew in the Philippines to harass and disrupt the filming. DOD Hollywood chief Don Baruch is asked about this CIA operative and denies any knowledge. In September United Artists invite CIA Director Stansfield Turner and his wife to a screening of Apocalypse Now but it is unclear if they attend. [source] [source 2]

The CIA and Hollywood: The 1980s

January 28th 1980 – CIA officers Tony Mendez and Ed Johnson successfully exfiltrate six State Department personnel out of Iran. Their cover is that they are a movie crew scouting locations for a non-existent sci-fi film named Argo. Special effects artist John Chambers, who had worked as a CIA contract agent for years, is a key part of developing this cover story and is later awarded the Intelligence Medal for his work. [source]

February 22nd 1980 – The CIA’s Employee Activities Association makes an application to Disney’s Magic Kingdom Club, having previously received passes via an arrangement with the State Department. [source]

June 1980 – At the CIA’s suggestion, Larry Thompson and the other producers of The CIA sign an exclusive contract with the AFIO, for ‘story ideas and technical advice’. The project has moved to CBS, and over the following months it is reported on TV and in print media. Former OSS officer Edward Anhalt signs on to write the pilot episode and act as a story adviser and Larry tells news media that he has the unofficial cooperation of the CIA in making his series. [source]

November 12th 1981 – Bill Casey attends a dinner and screening of the movie On Golden Pond, hosted by Jack Valenti and the MPAA. [source]

February 25th 1982 – Former CIA Director Richard Helms writes a letter to CIA Director Bill Casey, outlining a proposal from TV producer Jack Webb (of Dragnet fame) to make a CIA-themed TV series. This series is never made. [source]

March 14th 1982 – Bill Casey attends a cocktail buffet dinner and a pre-screening of I Love Liberty hosted by Jack Valenti and the MPAA. [source]

May 1982 – Larry Thompson’s The CIA is reported in news media as a dead project with CBS deciding it is ‘too sensitive’ to produce. Despite Thompson declaring his intention to revive it this series is never made. [source]

January 20th 1983 – CIA director Bill Casey rejects a request from White House Hollywood liaison Joe Holmes, who approached the agency on behalf of a studio looking to make a film about the CIA. Casey’s handwritten note on a memo says ‘James Bond is my favorite anyway’. [source]

May 5th 1983 – Bill Casey attends a screening of War Games hosted by Jack Valenti and the MPAA. [source]

July 19th 1985 – 20th Century Fox release The Man With One Red Shoe, a comedy spy thriller. It stars Tom Hanks and is produced with the help of two former CIA officers – Polly Dean and Penny Engle – who were recruited onto the production by former CIA analyst and Fox producer Robert Cort. [source] [source 2]

December 6th 1985 – Warner Bros. release Spies Like Us, a comedy spy thriller. It stars Dan Aykroyd and is produced with the help of former CIA officer Frank Snepp. [source]

February 27th 1986 – Tom Clancy visits CIA headquarters and gives a speech, sponsored by the Agency’s Office of Science and Weapons Research and Office of Central Reference. Clancy is paid $500 for his appearance, which he returns to the CIA. [source]

January 1987 – A bidding war erupts for a script about Eugene Hasenfus, a cargo wrangler who had gone down in a Contra supply plane flying over Nicaragua. The script is eventually bought by a CIA front company. This film is never made. [source] [source 2]

August 13th 1988 – Tom Clancy writes to CIA Director of Public Affairs William Baker about a leak that implied Clancy is profiting from people providing him with Top Secret information. [source]

September 21st 1989 – CIA Director William Webster responds to a request from Jack Valenti with information on the Soviet Politburo for a novel – Protect and Defend – that Valenti is writing. [source]

The CIA and Hollywood: The 1990s

May 11th 1990 – Tom Clancy writes to CIA Director of Public Affairs James Greenleaf, providing him with a copy of a fan letter he’d received that made ‘appalling allegations’ about the Agency. [source]

September 6th 1991 – MGM release Company Business, an action thriller that reminds the public that Iran-Contra is over and the CIA have new business. It bears hallmarks of CIA support. [source]

November 12th 1991 – The producers of Patriot Games are authorised to film at CIA headquarters. [source]

June 5th 1992 – Paramount Pictures release Patriot Games, the second Tom Clancy adaptation after 1990’s The Hunt for Red October (which is made without CIA support). [source]

September 11th 1992 – The spy thriller Sneakers is released, starring Robert Redford and Dan Aykroyd. It is made with the help of former CIA officer John Strauchs. [source]

March 1994 – The CIA either allows the producers of direct to video Iran-Contra action comedy Tough and Deadly to film at Langley, or provides them with footage of their headquarters. [source]

August 3rd 1994 – Paramount release Clear and Present Danger, the third adaptation of a Clancy novel. The CIA were among the government agencies to have input on the script, specifying that they wanted the conflict between Jack Ryan and deputy director for operations Robert Ritter not be shown as part of a wider conflict within the Agency. [source]

October 3rd 1995 – A memo to CIA Public Affairs Director Dennis Boxx records how a joint venture with Television Production Partners to produce a docudrama series called The Classified Files of the CIA is proving more difficult than anticipated. The project had originated in the Spring of 1994 as a response to the Aldrich Ames fiasco and, while the producers initially agreed to give the CIA script approval and near-total control over the series, by late 1995 the dynamic had changed. The following year the project is scrapped by CIA Director John Deutch and the series is never made. [source]

May 22nd 1996 – Paramount release Mission: Impossible, the first major film version of the popular TV show. Aerial footage of Langley appears in the movie and newly-appointed CIA Hollywood liaison Chase Brandon appears on the DVD bonus features. Many of the story tropes from both the finished film and draft scripts later find their way into The Recruit. [source] [source]

October 21st 1996 – Dan Aykroyd visits CIA headquarters as part of his research for a TV series about the CIA he is planning to make. This series is never made. [source]

June 28th 1997 – Screenwriter Gary Devore goes missing while driving through the Mojave desert. He is writing a film about the CIA during the invasion of Panama, but his laptop and disks are never recovered. Within days of his disappearance Chase Brandon, a friend of Gary’s since the early 80s, turns up as his house and apparently wipes his computer. While a body is found around a year later, no conclusive evidence identifies it as Devore’s. [source]

December 19th 1997 – Actor Patrick Stewart visits CIA headquarters and is ‘very favorably impressed’ by what he sees. [source]

December 25th 1997 – New Line Cinema release Wag the Dog, a dark comedy political thriller. Robert De Niro’s character Conrad Breen appears to be based on Chase Brandon. Dustin Hoffman’s movie producer character is assassinated by the government for threatening to blow the whistle on their black operations. [source]

January 21st 1998 – Actor Will Smith visits the CIA as part of his research for appearing in Enemy of the State. [source]

October 3rd 1998 – The syndicated TV series Air America airs its first episode. Unlike the real Air America, which was involved in smuggling weapons and drugs, this series features the State Department sending the airline to rescue people and help with disaster relief. Chase Brandon is a consultant on the series but is not credited. [source]

November 20th 1998 – Buena Vista release Enemy of the State, a surveillance thriller supported by the CIA and Chase Brandon. It stars Gene Hackman and Will Smith. The film makers hire a raft of consultants and technical advisors including former CIA contractor Martin Kaiser. The opening of the film sees the body of a man assassinated by US intelligence being found inside a vehicle that is pulled out of the water, not unlike the body said to be Gary Devore’s. [source] [source 2]

May 15th 1999 – An episode of Soldier of Fortune, Inc. airs that is written by former CIA officer Bazzel Baz. [source]

June 3rd 1999 – Alice Krige, star of In the Company of Spies, visits CIA headquarters. Her co-star Tom Berenger and producers Robert Cort, David Madden and Tim Matheson also visit Langley as part of the production. [source]

October 13th 1999 – Showtime’s In the Company of Spies has its premiere at CIA headquarters. [source]

October 24th 1999 – Showtime release the TV movie In the Company of Spies, produced by former CIA officer Robert Cort, written by Roger Towne and partly filmed at CIA headquarters. [source]

The CIA and Hollywood: The 2000s

October 2nd 2000 – Top Secret Missions of the CIA airs its first episode. The series is produced with the help of Chase Brandon and the CIA. [source] [source 2]

October 4th 2000 – Actor Dean Cain and producer Joel Rodgers visit CIA headquarters as part of their development of a documentary series on the Agency. [source]

October 6th 2000 – Universal Pictures release Meet the Parents, a spy comedy supported by the CIA and Chase Brandon and starring Robert De Niro. Former CIA officer Milt Bearden works as a technical advisor on the film. At Chase Brandon’s encouragement, a scene showing CIA torture manuals is replaced by a scene showing photographs of high officials. [source] [source 2]

May 20th 2001 – Discovery’s CIA Secrets airs its first episode, based on the story of the Argo operation. The series is produced with the help of the CIA, and involves Craig Piligian and Dean Cain. [source] [source 2]

September 27th 2001 – CBS drama The Agency airs its first episode. Producer Michael Beckner works closely with Chase Brandon during the show’s writing and development, incorporating ideas Brandon suggested. The Agency premieres at Langley but has its TV debut delayed due to similarities between the pilot episode and the 9/11 attacks. The series is co-written by former CIA officer Bazzel Baz and Jonna and Tony Mendez work as consultants. [source] [source 2] [source 3]

September 30th 2001 – ABC action thriller Alias airs its first episode. Chase Brandon works with the producers and writers and star Jennifer Garner went on to appear in recruitment materials produced by the CIA. [source]

November 6th 2001 – Fox’s action series 24 airs its first episode. While reports are contradictory, the CIA definitely work on some (if not all) seasons of the show. [source]

November 21st 2001 – Universal Pictures release Spy Game, a spy thriller supported by the CIA and Chase Brandon. The Agency pulls out of the production after a late script rewrite portrayed Agency leadership in ‘an insensitive light’. [source] [source 2]

March 1st 2002 – Screenwriter Mark Groubert files a lawsuit against Spyglass Entertainment, the producers of The Recruit, alleging that they stole large portions of the script from his 1990s project titled The Farm. Documents that he obtained during the lawsuit show that Chase Brandon was an uncredited writer on The Recruit, and Roger Towne took the credit to help keep Brandon’s influence secret. [source] [source 2]

May 13th 2002 – The BBC release the spy drama Spooks. Among the various ex-intelligence consultants on the series is former CIA officer Mike Baker. [source] [source 2]

May 29th 2002 – Paramount release The Sum of All Fears, the fourth Clancy adaptation. The CIA’s Chase Brandon provides on set technical advise as well as script input, and star Ben Affleck visited Langley as part of his preparation for the role. [source] [source 2]

June 6th 2002 – Universal Pictures release The Bourne Identity, an action thriller directed by Doug Liman. While he publicly denies any CIA support to the film, Chase Brandon appears in a DVD special feature and later lists the film on his personal website as one where he worked as a consultant. The sequels, also involving Doug Liman, bear the hallmarks of CIA support. [source] [source 2]

June 7th 2002 – Buena Vista release Bad Company, a comedy spy thriller supported by the CIA and Chase Brandon. [source]

December 31st 2002 – Miramax release Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which portrays gameshow host Chuck Barris’ double life as a CIA assassin. Barris has made repeated and contradictory statements about his alleged work for the Agency, and director George Clooney says even he doesn’t know whether the story is true. [source] [source 2]

January 31st 2003 – Buena Vista release The Recruit, a film partially written by the CIA’s own Chase Brandon. The film becomes a classic within the Agency, being shown to recruits on the way to and from The Farm, the training facility that inspired The Recruit. [source] [source 2] [source 3]

February 5th 2003 – Piligian’s False Flag Productions’ series Covert Action airs its first episode. The short-lived series is produced with CIA support. Executive producer Eddie Barbini will go on to produce training films for the CIA. [source] [source 2] [source 3]

January 20th 2004 – DOD Hollywood chief Phil Strub drafts a memo outlining numerous problems with the CBS series NCIS, including their depiction of the CIA, that threaten to permanently break the military-NCIS relationship. Problems comprise of the CIA using a spy satellite to spy on a US Naval base, including a female sailor who is sunbathing nude, a main character (Gibbs) confronting the CIA Director about a rogue agent, and him trying to blackmail a CIA Assistant Director. [source]

March 10th 2004 – A CIA recruitment video starring Jennifer Garner of Alias makes its debut on the CIA’s website.  She was recruited for the job by Chase Brandon. [source] [source 2]

July 11th 2004 – The BBC air Spy, a gameshow where contestants try to win the approval of a panel of ex-spy judges. On the panel is former CIA officer Mike Baker. [source]

December 22nd 2004 – Universal Pictures release Meet the Fockers, a romantic comedy made with the CIA’s help and starring Robert De Niro. Chase Brandon works as a consultant on the film. [source] [source 2]

December 23rd 2005 – Warner Bros. release Syriana, a geopolitical spy thriller written by former CIA officer Robert Baer. [source]

April 4th 2006 – Universal Pictures release The Interpreter, a political thriller supported by the CIA and Chase Brandon. [source]

April 9th 2006 – TNT release the TV movie Avenger, based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth. Former CIA officer Bazzel Baz appears in the film and is credited as an associate producer. [source]

May 5th 2006 – Paramount release Mission: Impossible III. Tom Cruise and JJ Abrams visit CIA headquarters as part of their research for the film, with Cruise promising to portray the Agency ‘in as positive a light as possible.’ [source]

December 10th 2006 – ABC’s miniseries The Path to 9-11 airs its first episode. Chase Brandon consults on the series, but he is not credited on it. [source]

December 22nd 2006 – Universal Pictures release The Good Shepherd. Director Robert De Niro visits Langley, as does Art Director Jeannine Oppewall, and the production hires two former CIA officers, Milt Bearden and Jack Platt, as consultants. [source] [source 2] [source 3]

Unknown, 2007 – McLarty Associates, an inside the beltway law firm, creates a media liaison division called McLarty Media. Rich Klein, a former State Department official, heads up the new division and has since worked on 40 films alongside other projects. CIA documents will later refer to him as a ‘longtime contact of OPA’, i.e. the Office of Public Affairs. Klein maintains a network of former intelligence and law enforcement officers who he provides to productions as consultants. [source] [source 2]

June 28th 2007 – The USA Network air Burn Notice, an espionage and private investigation drama. Former CIA officer Michael Wilson works as a consultant and is credited as a producer on the series. [source] [source 2]

October 19th 2007 – New Line Cinema release Rendition, a torture thriller. Former CIA officer Robert Baer consults on the film. [source]

December 14th 2007 – Dreamworks release The Kite Runner, a drama set in the Soviet-Afghan War.  Rich Klein is a consultant on the film, as is former CIA officer Jon Kiriakou. [source]

December 21st 2007 – Universal Pictures release Charlie Wilson’s War, a historical comedy drama about the CIA’s support to the mujahideen in Afghanistan. Former CIA officer Milt Bearden works as a consultant on the film, as does the CIA’s Chase Brandon. [source] [source 2] [source 3]

December 18th 2008 – Actor Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael visit Langley, telling CIA officers ‘we don’t know exactly what you people do, but we’re really glad you’re doing it.’ [source]

March 13th 2009 – Disney release Race to Witch Mountain, a sci-fi adventure film about UFOs. The CIA quietly support the film. [source]

May 9th 2009 – Actor Mike Myers, perhaps best known for playing the spy Austin Powers, visits Langley and thanks the officers he meets there. [source]

The CIA and Hollywood: The 2010s

May 1st 2010 – CIA Director Leon Panetta meets Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal at the White House Correspondents Dinner. They discuss Bigelow and Boal’s Tora Bora project, a film about the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden. This evolves into Zero Dark Thirty. [source]

June 22nd 2010 – An episode of Spike’s Deadliest Warrior titled KGB vs CIA features former CIA officers including Mike Baker. [source] [source 2]

July 23rd 2010 – Sony Pictures release Salt, a spy thriller. As part of her preparation for the lead role Angelina Jolie has a teleconference with female CIA ops officers. The film is directed by Phillip Noyce (director of Patriot Games) and written by Kurt Wimmer (one of the writers on The Recruit). Former CIA officer Melissa Boyle Mahle works as a consultant on the film. Its storyline conveniently coincides with a real-life Russian spy ring in America that is shut down just as the film is coming out. [source] [source 2] [source 3]

August 18th 2010 – A Top Chef episode titled Covert Cuisine features CIA director Leon Panetta as one of a panel of judges, in an episode set at CIA headquarters. Panetta is even shown having to skip dessert to attend to important matters. [source]

October 2nd 2010 – Summit Entertainment release Fair Game, written by former CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson and directed by Doug Liman. [source]

October 15th 2010 – Summit Entertainment release Red, the first of a series of spy comedy films. Former CIA officer Robert Baer is a consultant to the series. [source]

April 8th 2011 – Universal Pictures release Hanna, an action thriller. Former CIA officer Melissa Boyle Mahle works as a technical advisor on the movie. [source] [source 2]

June 2011 – Screenwriter Mark Boal makes several visits to CIA headquarters, including attending a classified ceremony for those who worked on the Osama Bin Laden manhunt and Abbottabad raid, which took place the previous month. [source]

July 1st 2011 – An email to the CIA requests visits to Langley for Claire Danes and Meredith Stiehm, the star of Homeland and one of its producers and writers. The tours are arranged, this being the second time that Danes visits headquarters. One email from Public Affairs Director George Little says ‘We will do NO press on this since it’s low profile.’ [source]

July 23rd 2011 – George Little, now former CIA Director of Public Affairs and working in Public Affairs for the DOD, sends an email saying that former CIA Director (and now Secretary of Defense) Leon Panetta wants Al Pacino to play him in Zero Dark Thirty. [source]

August 26th 2011 – Peggy Pridemore, location manager for USA Network’s Covert Affairs (and Argo) contacts the CIA about filming near Langley. This is approved, and star of the series Piper Perabo visits Agency headquarters to help prepare for her role, organised by producer Doug Liman. Valerie Plame and Robert Grenier, two former CIA officers, work as consultants on the show. Covert Affairs makes its debut in November 2011. [source] [source 2]

September 22nd 2011 – CBS air Person of Interest, a spy drama. Former CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson works as a consultant on the series. [source] [source 2]

October 2nd 2011 – Showtime’s Homeland makes its debut, the first of 8 seasons. The show benefits from a large amount of CIA support, including ‘spy camps’ at a private club in Georgetown where the writers and producers meet with government officials, including CIA officers. Former CIA officer John MacGaffin acts as a consultant and government liaison for the series. Kari Amelung, another former CIA officer, joins the crew in the final season. Another former officer, Carol Rollie Flynn, who is part of the inspiration for Danes’ character, does promotional work for Homeland ahead of the release of season four. [source] [source 2] [source 3]

February 7th 2012 – Universal Pictures release Safe House, a thriller starring Denzel Washington. Former CIA officer Luis Falcon III alongside Rich Klein work on Safe House as consultants. [source] [source 2]

October 12th 2012 – Warner Bros. release Argo, telling the story of Tony Mendez exfiltrating State Department officials from Iran under the cover of being a film crew. Bryan Cranston and Ben Affleck visit CIA headquarters in preparation for their roles, several scenes are shot at Langley and the CIA help promote the film upon its release. Tony Mendez acts as a consultant on the film, and visits Langley with Ben Affleck. CIA entertainment liaison officer Jon Bair works on the film from the Agency’s side. [source] [source 2] [source 3]

December 21st 2012 – The first of three CIA Inspector General’s reports investigating aspects of the Agency’s relationship with the entertainment industry and their work on Zero Dark Thirty, is published. It finds that the Agency has been acting without guidelines, ignoring regulations, failing to keep records and causing security concerns for decades. [source]

January 2013 – Rocket Media release Game of Pawns, a docudrama about Glenn Duffie Shriver. It is partly filmed at CIA headquarters and is funded by the FBI. [source] [source]

January 11th 2013 – Sony/Columbia release Zero Dark Thirty, a thriller about the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden. It benefits from full CIA support, which involves classified information being provided to screenwriter Mark Boal, leading to a trio of Inspector General investigations of the CIA’s Hollywood office. Boal bases his script on a set of CIA talking points provided to the White House in the wake of the Abbottabad raid. In a series of conference calls Boal verbally shares his script with CIA operations officers, leading to various changes. [source] [source 2] [source 3]

January 30th 2013 – FX air The Americans, a Cold War spy drama created and written by former CIA officer Joseph Weisberg. Every episode script is reviewed by the publications review board at the Agency. [source] [source 2]

September 16th 2013 – The second Inspector General report, covering potential ethics violations involving the Zero Dark Thirty film makers, is published. It finds that CIA officers showed total disregard for regulations in getting close to Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow. [source]

September 23rd 2013 – NBC release The Blacklist. Beginning in the first season former CIA officer Bazzel Baz appears in over 25 episodes. [source]

November 3rd 2013 – The Travel Channel airs America Declassified, hosted by former CIA officer Mike Baker. In one episode Baker visits the CIA museum at Langley and interviews Museum Director Toni Hiley. [source] [source 2]

January 2nd 2014 – ABC air The Assets, a Cold War spy drama. It is written by former CIA officers Sandra Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille, who also consult on the series. [source]

March 12th 2014 – The third Inspector General report is published, looking into how Mark Boal was given access to classified information during the writing of Zero Dark Thirty. [source]

June 1st 2014 – Company Man, a book by former CIA General Counsel John Rizzo, is published. It claims that, ‘The CIA has long had a special relationship with the entertainment industry, devoting considerable attention to fostering relationships with Hollywood movers and shakers – studio executives, producers, directors, big name actors.’ [source]

June 5th 2014 – Actor Tommy Savas and former CIA officer turned producer Rodney Faraon visit CIA headquarters ahead of the release of State of Affairs. [source]

June 6th 2014 – Ryan Trapani and Chris White of the CIA’s Office of Public Affairs have lunch with Rich Klein and discuss ‘a number of projects he’s working on’. A CIA document repeatedly refers to Klein as a ‘longtime contact of OPA’. [source]

June 9th 2014 – George Nolfi, writer of The Bourne Ultimatum, visits CIA headquarters to discuss filming there for the NBC spy drama Allegiance, which Nolfi created. Nolfi meets with OPA multiple times over the following months, shows the CIA the pilot episode, and films at headquarters in November. [source]

August 13th 2014 – Sky release Legends, a crime drama. Former CIA officer Mike Baker consults on the series and acts in a minor role. [source] [source 2]

November 17th 2014 – NBC airs the spy drama State of Affairs, produced by former CIA officers Rodney Faraon and Henry Crumpton. [source] [source 2]

December 5th 2014 – Lionsgate release Dying of the Light, a psychological thriller written and directed by Paul Schrader and supported by the CIA. Schrader denounces the cut that is released and puts together his own edit, known as Dark, which is distributed freely on the internet. [source] [source 2]

December 24th 2014 – Rich Klein writes an op-ed about The Interview, a film he consults on, where he praises the movie and calls for pirated copies to be sent into North Korea. [source]

December 25th 2014 – Sony Pictures release The Interview, a spy comedy about assassinating Kim Jong-un. Files from the Sony hack show that a former CIA officer reviewed the script and star Seth Rogen says there were shadowy on-set figures who he is ‘convinced are in the CIA’. Klein’s wish comes true – before the DVD was even released in much of the world, South Korean activists use balloons to fly copies into North Korea, much as the CIA flew propaganda into the Soviet Union during the Cold War. [source] [source 2] [source 3]

January 16th 2015 – Universal Pictures release Blackhat, a cybercrime/cybersecurity thriller. Rich Klein works as a consultant on the film, as does former CIA officer Rodney Faraon. [source]

February 5th 2015 – NBC air Allegiance, a spy drama that filmed at Langley. It proves short-lived, and is cancelled before completing its first season. [source]

February 12th 2015 – George Nolfi screens the first three episodes of Allegiance at an event at Langley, and does a Q and A with CIA officers. [source]

June 5th 2015 – 20th Century Fox release the comedy Spy, which bears some hallmarks of CIA support and hires a former CIA officer (name unknown) as a consultant. It becomes a popular film within the halls of Langley. [source] [source 2]

July 31st 2015 – Paramount release Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, which bears the hallmarks of CIA support. However, when director Christopher McQuarrie asks to film at Langley the request is denied. [source] [source 2]

August 21st 2015 – Lionsgate release American Ultra, a dark comedy thriller about the CIA’s MKULTRA program, which shows some signs of CIA support. [source]

October 16th 2015 – Disney release Bridge of Spies, a historical spy drama starring Tom Hanks as James Donovan, a lawyer who worked for the CIA. The film shows some signs of being supported by the CIA and is supported by the US Air Force. [source]

November 10th 2015 – The History Channel release Hunting Hitler, a documentary series hosted by former CIA officer Robert Baer. [source] [source 2]

January 9th 2016 – CIA Ops Center monitors coverage of the unfolding Sean Penn – El Chapo story.  Penn had met with El Chapo a few weeks before the drug kingpin’s (re)capture by Mexican and US authorities.  While the CIA were, at least officially, not involved in the operation they did keep an eye on how things played out in the media. [source]

January 16th 2016 – Paramount Pictures release 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, starring John Krasinski. Director Michael Bay approaches the CIA about filming at Langley but his request is denied. The CIA attempt to get ‘classified and uncleared material from the book out of the film’ and enlist Rich Klein, who is working as a consultant on the movie, to help them do this. This includes the removal of various intelligence warnings about an attack on the State Department outpost in Benghazi. [source] [source 2]

September 21st 2016 – ABC release Designated Survivor, a political thriller series. Rich Klein is credited as a producer and when the series moves to Netflix for its third season the producers consult with the CIA for months over the scripts. The main FBI character joins the CIA in the third season before heroically sacrificing herself. [source] [source 2]

October 16th 2016 – EPIX airs Berlin Station, a Cold War spy drama. Former CIA officer Robert Baer is a consultant on the series. Former CIA officer Kari Amelung also consults on season three. [source] [source 2]

January 22nd 2017 – CBS airs Hunted, based on the UK reality TV show of the same name. Members of the public have to evade detection and surveillance by ex-law enforcement and intelligence agents. Former CIA officers Aki Peritz and Connie Min are among the team trying to find the contestants. [source]

July 12th 2017 – ITV airs Fearless, a mini-series about a human rights lawyer. Former CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson works as a consultant on the series. [source]

September 29th 2017 – Universal Pictures release American Made, a biopic of drug-smuggling CIA pilot Barry Seal.  The film is directed by Doug Liman and stars Tom Cruise.  It shows signs of being supported by the CIA. [source]

November 3rd 2017 – The Discovery channel airs Finding Escobar’s Millions, created, produced by and starring former CIA officer Doug Laux, alongside fellow ex-CIA operative Ben Smith. [source] [source 2]

Unknown, 2018 – Former CIA officers John Sipher and Jerry O’Shea found Spycraft Entertainment, a specialist entertainment consulting firm for former intelligence officers. Designed to push more CIA-themed content, they develop productions and offer technical advice services. [source]

February 28th 2018 – Hulu air The Looming Tower, a miniseries about the ‘intelligence failure’ in the run up to the 9/11 attacks.  It bears the hallmarks of CIA support and excludes figures like CIA triple agent Ali Mohamed from the story. [source]

June 2018 – Actor Daniel Craig, best known for playing James Bond, visits CIA headquarters and meets with ‘leadership and the workforce’ as well as subject matter experts. [source]

June 6th 2018 – The Audience Network airs Condor, a TV reboot of Three Days of the Condor. Former CIA officer Darrell Blocker works as a script consultant on the series. [source] [source 2]

June 10th 2018 – Producer and star of Homeland Claire Danes begins giving a series of interviews where she attributes Homeland’s ability to predict future events, or have episodes coincide with real events, to the ‘spy camps’ organised by former CIA officer John MacGaffin. [source] [source 2]

August 31st 2018 – Amazon release Jack Ryan, a reboot series of the Tom Clancy novels, starring John Krasinski. The series films at CIA headquarters and consults with the CIA regularly throughout the production. Former CIA officer David Chasteen acts as a technical advisor. Rich Klein also consults on the series. Krasinski visits Langley and does many interviews praising the CIA as part of the show’s PR roll-out. [source]

April 21st 2019 – HBO air an episode of Game of Thrones featuring a cameo by CIA deputy director David S Cohen. Cohen later recounts the experience on the CIA’s podcast The Langley Files. [source] [source 2]

June 21st 2019 – IFC Films release A Call to Spy, a historical spy drama about OSS/CIA officer Virginia Hall. The CIA support the film and Agency Museum Director Toni Hiley is thanked in the credits. [source]

The CIA and Hollywood: The 2020s (so far…)

January 2nd 2020 – The Discovery Channel airs Expedition Bigfoot.  Former CIA officer Ben Smith appears in the series as a specialist bigfoot researcher. [source]

January 20th 2020 – Bravo release Spy Games, a gameshow where contestants compete to win the favour of a panel of judges. On the panel is former CIA officer Doug Laux. [source]

February 10th 2020 – An episode of reality show Pawn Stars sees Rick go to CIA headquarters and look around the Agency’s museum. [source]

April 4th 2020 – The Discovery Channel airs Black Files Declassified, hosted by former CIA officer Mike Baker. [source]

May 28th 2020 – An episode of To Tell the Truth features former CIA officer Jonna Mendez. [source]

June 26th 2020 – Amazon release My Spy, a spy comedy. It is supported by the CIA. [source]

July 17th 2020 – Amazon release El Candidato, a thriller series pitching CIA agents against Mexican drug cartels. Former CIA officer David Chasteen works as a consultant on the series. [source]

September 29th 2020 – An episode of the Fox News talk show Outnumbered airs that is written by former CIA public affairs officer Marie Harf. [source]

March 19th 2021 – Lionsgate release The Courier, a historical spy drama about Greville Wynne and the Penkovsky Papers. The CIA support the film. [source]

July 15th 2021 – An episode of Top Chef Amateurs features former CIA officer turned CIA-themed content producer Rodney Faraon. [source]

April 8th 2022 – Amazon release All the Old Knives, a spy thriller.  Former CIA public affairs officer Kali Caldwell works on the film as a consultant. [source] [source 2]

July 13th 2022 – Netflix release DB Cooper: Where Are You?, a documentary series. Former CIA officer Jonna Mendez works as a consultant. [source]

December 16th 2022 – Netflix release The Recruit, an action comedy series about a lawyer working for the CIA. Doug Liman is a producer and the series films at CIA headquarters for the second season. Star Noah Centineo says that filming at Langley ‘felt like going home’ after his research visits to prep for the first season. [source] [source 2]

April 20th 2023 – Netflix release The Diplomat, a Homeland clone set in the State Department. Former CIA officers John MacGaffin and Kari Amelung work as consultants on the series. [source] [source 2]

July 18th 2024 – Amazon release My Spy: The Eternal City, the sequel to My Spy. It bears the hallmarks of CIA support. [source]

August 22nd 2024 – Amazon air Classified, a coming of age story about a teenage girl finding out her new stepmother works for the CIA. It is co-produced by former CIA officers and co-founders of Spycraft John Sipher and Jerry O’Shea. Spycraft are credited for consulting services. [source] [source]

November 29th 2024 – Paramount+ with Showtime air The Agency, a psychological spy drama. Former CIA officer Darrell Blocker works as a script consultant on the series. [source] [source 2]

January 17th 2025 – Netflix release Back in Action, an action comedy spy film. Former CIA officer David Chasteen works as a consultant on the movie. [source]

February 20th 2025 – Netflix release Zero Day, a cybersecurity thriller mini-series starring Robert De Niro. The series films at Langley, and former CIA officers Jeremy Bash and Barry L McManus work as consultants. [source] [source 2]

April 10th 2025 – Amazon release G20, an action thriller spy film. Former CIA officer David Chasteen works as a consultant on the movie. [source]

June 27th 2025 – Universal Pictures release M3gan 2.0, a sci-fi horror comedy.  Former CIA David Chasteen works as a technical consultant on the film. [source]

Sources

Alongside the documents, IMDB entries and media sources linked above I also used various books and journal articles to help piece together this timeline.

• Francis Stonor Saunders, Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War
• Hugh Wilford, The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America
• Simon Willmetts, In Secrecy’s Shadow: The OSS and CIA in Hollywood Cinema 1941-1979
• Matt Alford and Tom Secker, National Security Cinema: The Shocking New Evidence of Government Control in Hollywood
• Matt Alford, The Writer with No Hands
• Hilary Spurling, The Girl from the Fiction Department: a Portrait of Sonia Orwell
• Robert Maheu, Next to Hughes: Behind the Power and Tragic Downfall of Howard Hughes by His Closest Advisor
• Tony Shaw, Hollywood’s Cold War
• Robbie Graham, Silver Screen Saucers: Sorting Fact From Fantasy in Hollywood’s UFO Movies
• Tricia Jenkins, The CIA in Hollywood: how the agency shapes contemporary film and television (both editions)
• Tricia Jenkins, Intelligence Activity in Hollywood: Remembering the “Agency” in CIA
• Chris Moran, Ian Fleming and the Public Profile of the CIA
• Howard Hunt, American Spy: My Secret History in the CIA, Watergate and Beyond
• Nick Schou, Spooked: How the CIA Manipulates the Media and Hoodwinks Hollywood
• Shane O’Sullivan, The Watergate Burglars: Dirty Tricks: Nixon, Watergate, and the CIA
• Michael Winner, Winner Takes All: A Life of Sorts
• John Rizzo, Company Man: 30 years of controversy and crisis in the CIA
• Martin Kaiser, Odyssey of an eavesdropper: my life in electronic counter-surveillance and my battle against the FBI
• David Eldridge, ‘Dear Owen’: The CIA, Luigi Luraschi and Hollywood
• Jim Di Eugenio, Reclaiming Parkland: Tom Hanks, Vincent Bugliosi, and the JFK Assassination in the New Hollywood
• M. Fitzgerald, Adjuncts of Government: Darryl F. Zanuck and 20th Century-Fox in Service to the Executive Branch, 1935–1971

There are, of course, other sources besides those on this page so if you have suggestions for additions or corrections then please use the contact form below.  I’ve attempted to link up the overwhelming majority of the documents I have in my collection but there, too, I am open to being shown additional resources.

I hope you enjoyed this timeline and can make good use of it.  I’ve never done this sort of piece before but it is the best way I can think of to present the core material on the CIA and Hollywood.